Gamisodes is made of the most amazing collectors, community members, creative contributors and all-around great people. Please join us for the latest Community Spotlight with the amazingly talented and hard-working, Agnes Garbowska.
First Things First...
1. Tell us something about yourself:
Where are you from?
I was born in Poland and immigrated to Canada when I was about four or five years old. I grew up in Canada but I'm still able to speak Polish even though I don't speak fluently. I moved to the United States about 10 years ago and I love living there.
What is your professional background? How did you become a well-known creator?
I have been in comic books and publishing for about 18 years. Like most common creators, I started off in small press and self-publishing. My first big break was working for Marvel Comics on Spider-Ham 25th anniversary and Girl Comics. After that I went back to self-publishing. It was my self-publishing that got me my work on My Little Pony. I worked on My Little Pony for about seven years pretty consistently before I started working for DC comics. At DC comics I worked on Teen Titans Go! and DC Superhero Girls.
What is your preferred movie and genre?
I love watching movies and I love movies of all types. I don't really have a favorite genre. As long as it's a good movie, I am more than happy to watch it. I watch everything from sci-fi to fantasy to action. I really love Disney so I will watch just about anything as long as it's a good experience.
What's something about you that would be surprising to know?
I got into drawing mostly as a way to entertain myself. After I immigrated to Canada, I did not know how to speak English or how to read/write in English. My mom gave me a pen and paper and I had to entertain myself. That is really how I got into art. I learned how to speak English through watching cartoons and that's where I fell in love with cartoons. I always struggled with learning how to read and write but it was comic books that really made me want to learn how to read and write in English. I wanted to know what the characters were saying and not just look at the really cool pictures. It is thanks to comic books that I wanted to learn to get better at reading and writing and I think that is where my love of comic books came from.
What's something that you've always wanted to try, learn and/or accomplish?
Something I always wanted to learn is to have better language learning skills. Even though I've been going to Japan for over 10 years, I still struggle learning the language. I wish I could learn Japanese more easily. I used to know French when I was younger, but unfortunately after I was 13 I had no obligation to continue studying it, so I stopped. I now regret this decision. I would love to re-learn French, given the opportunity. So, if there's anything I could learn it would be learning language skills much easier so I could be more fluent in more languages.
What is one thing you can't live without?
Something that I can't live without is my ability to create and draw. My work life is intertwined with my life in general. The two are not separate. I cannot live without creating. I love creating and it is my life. I know most people have their work life and their regular life separate but it's not the case for me. I live and breathe to create - It is a part of me.
If you had to eat the same meal every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?
If I could have the same meal every day, I think it would be either dumplings or sandwiches. As a little Polish lady, we love our sandwiches. I love all kinds of sandwiches and I could definitely live my whole life on sandwiches. I also really love dumplings. I didn't grow up eating pierogi, which are basically a Polish dumpling, but I think I could eat them every day.
What would be the theme song of your life right now?
If I could have a theme song, I believe it would be “How Far I'll Go” from Moana. I am pretty obsessed with that song and could sing it over and over again. It is a very powerful song and I feel I relate to her. We all have life's obligations on us, and strive to do better and go farther. We don't know how far we can go and it's only when we push ourselves that we really begin to understand that we can be unstoppable. Life likes to throw things our ways. Trust me, life has thrown a lot my way and has my entire life. But I have to be resilient. We all have to be resilient. And that is why I relate to that song. I don't know how far I'll go but I will keep learning and I will keep pushing. I don't feel there are limits as long as you are willing to keep going in the right direction.
What's the strangest thing you've ever done?
I'm not sure if it's the strangest thing I've ever done but one of the most daring things I have ever done is bungee jumping. I had the opportunity to go bungee jumping in New Zealand over 15 years ago. It was definitely one of the craziest and scariest things I have ever done.
After Inspector Gadget, what was your favorite cartoon as a kid?
After Inspector Gadget, I would say my favorite cartoon growing up was Sailor Moon. I was obsessed with Sailor Moon and I wanted to be her. She made me feel comfortable about being clumsy and that it was ok to cry. I very much related to her and still do. Even to this day I continue to look up to her and I still love Sailor Moon.
What is your favorite video game?
My favorite video games are Pokémon and Animal Crossing. I rarely play video games anymore. I banned myself from most video games because I'd much rather be working. Video games take up a lot of time and this is time I would like to use creating. I still like to play games socially with friends, such as Minecraft, because I enjoy the bonding time with friends I am not able to see because they live too far away.
Who's your favorite comic book character?
My favorite comic book character has to be Rogue from the X-Men. Rogue was the first superhero that I fell in love with it. And that makes her very special because I liked her character from a very young age. Since I worked on Teen Titans Go! I have a few new favorite, Starfire. And after working on DC Super Hero Girls, I love Jessica Cruz from The Green Lantern.
If you could pick any superpower, what would it be and why?
If I could have any superpower, it would either be teleportation or super speed, both for time saving reasons. I would love teleportation so I could get from one location to another in no time at all. No more need for driving or to complete work quickly and I would have more time in the day. But I feel very time efficient going on a plane. I would love super speed because then I could just get everywhere very quickly.
2) Tell Us About your Connection with Gamisodes
If you could decide on the next new Gamisodes Inspector Gadget collection, what would it be and why?
It would be a Penny collection similar to the Brain Train. I would love to draw Penny with different expressions and outfits. I think it would be super fun. I've always wanted to be Penny growing up.
Who’s your favorite Inspector Gadget character and why?
It has to be Penny, since I wanted to be her. She is smart, she thinks outside the box and she helps Inspector Gadget solve all the mysteries. She is really amazing. I love the adventures that she goes on. As a child I wanted to travel the world and it was really cool seeing Penny travel with Inspector Gadget and Brain around the world, solve all those crazy mysteries, and go on all those crazy adventures.
If you could pick the next Mission location(s), where would it/they be and why?
I would say it would have to be Japan. Since I love visiting Japan, I would love to see the characters on the cards also visiting Japan. It is one of my favorite places. And you could do a lot of fun things with the art.
What is/are your favorite Gamisodes collection(s) so far? Why?
My favorite Gamisodes collection so far has to be the Brain Train. I loved working on the collection. It was really cool doing the research, and of course getting the help of the community - to find different outfits for Brain that appeared on the show. He wore so many really cool outfits in the TV show. All his disguises were super fun to re-create for the Brain Train cards.
Of those collections, what are some of your favorite cards/collectibles? Why?
I don't think I could pick a single favorite card in the Brain Train collection because they were all just really, really fun to make. The most amazing thing was seeing them all come together and how they were able to be interchanged with Brain’s different disguises from the different episodes - for example, the Hawaiian outfit combined with the sea monster outfit.
Special shoutout to Gamisodes Ambassador @TheRealNerkle for facilitating the Spotlight!
